U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,477--dated Dec. 21, 1976, discloses a device for non-rigid connection of two rigid cylindrical pipes, which comprise the combined use of flexible double lipped gaskets and toroid flexible gaskets surrounding a bulb-shaped zone formed in one of the pipes. The device is. particularly useful for fastening fragile tubes containing light emitters to metal reactors used for photochemical processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,918--dated Jan. 11, 1977, discloses an apparatus for the irradiation of fluids in which the fluid is conducted along the walls of a container having walls which are permeable for the radiation to which the fluid is exposed. Radiation sources are arranged around the container and an active rotor is disposed within the container. The rotor consists of a body having axial bores and pins movably disposed in the bores and adapted to engage with their front ends the container walls thereby to wipe any deposits from the container walls during rotation of the rotor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,041--dated Feb. 23, 1982, discloses various embodiments of photo-reactors in which there are at least two radiation chambers with a window arranged therebetween. UV radiation is introduced into one of the chambers at a side opposite the window so that it passes through that chamber, through the window and into the other chamber. The fluid medium to be purified is passed through the chambers and subjected to the radiation while in the chambers, The flow of the medium is through the chambers in series in some embodiments and in parallel in others. An embodiment is disclosed wherein a recirculation line is established around the reactor with the recirculation being continuous or intermittent. When intermittent the purified fluid medium also is drawn off intermittently, between the periods of recirculation. In some embodiments, the amount of radiation traversing all the chambers is monitored. If the monitored amount drops below a given amount, the apparatus is shut down. Alteratively, the rate of flow of the medium is adjusted, based on that monitored amount, with the rate of flow increasing or decreasing, respectively, in response to increases or decreases in that amount.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,105--dated Oct. 9, 1984, relates to a process for producing gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from water. The process is conducted in a photolytic reactor which contains a water-suspension of a photoactive material containing a hydrogen-liberating catalyst. The reactor also includes a column for receiving gaseous hydrogen and oxygen evolved from the liquid phase. To avoid oxygen-inactivation of the catalyst, the reactor is evacuated continuously by an external pump which circulates the evolved gases through means for selectively recovering hydrogen therefrom. The pump also cools the reactor by evaporating water from the liquid phase. Preferably, product recovery is effected by selectively diffusing the hydrogen through a heated semipermeable membrane, while maintaining across the membrane a magnetic field gradient which biases the oxygen away from the heated membrane. This promotes separation minimizes the back-reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, and protects the membrane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,111--dated Jun. 30, 1992, discloses a method of removing, reducing or detoxifying organic pollutants from a fluid, water or air, by contacting the fluid with a photoreactive metal semiconductor material in the presence of ultraviolet light of a wavelength to activate the photoreactive material. This is improved by simultaneously contacting the photoreactive material with a substance that accepts electrons and thus inhibits hole-electron recombination. Such substance will be such as to readily accept electrons either from the conduction bard or from superoxide ions, and to rapidly dissociate into harmless products.
Still other photoreactors are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,567,921; 3,769,517; 3,924,246; 4,296,066; 4,381,978; 4,454,835; 4,488,935; 4,544,470; 4,774,026; 4,863,608; 4,868,127; 4,957,773; 5,045,288; 5,094,815; and 5,149,377.